The World of Grandpa Don

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Filter Your Email?

You can filter your email to keep out objectionable or unwanted content. Sounds great! However, there is a price. 

I send out a weekly notice of web site updates and for a while, used the word "Hello" in the subject line. One person wrote that their "filter" was sending my messages to the junk file. How could that greeting be objectionable? 

Filters are not all that smart. They often ignore spaces and combine words. Then they search for imbedded words. When they look at hello, they find 'hell' and say "this is objectionable". 

Filtering may be the answer for youngsters who should not be exposed to everything out there on the internet. Some families have a sign-on password for each member. They can have their own email account and restricted access can be set for the youngest members. 

I think the best filter (for me) is my own discretion and the "DELETE" key. Filters just aren't smart enough to decide what I want. They keep out too much and still manage to let garbage in.